Interesting Article on Menswear

Here we go:

How has the internet changed the way we discuss clothing? Every subculture has been balkanized to message boards and niche sites (Rawr Denim, for one) that cater to very specific interests. For many, the way they dress is determined more by where they hang out online instead of where they hang out in real life. Do you think regional styles and cultures will be completely supplanted by their online counterparts?

For one thing, it’s made *visible* the ways in which various sorts of men think about clothing, and made that widely, democratically available to other men. That’s really quite remarkable, new, and something whose implications aren’t entirely clear yet. Men used to do this one-on-one, or in very small groups. But it required a sort of mutual permission, and more trust in other men than many had.

A cultural inability in this area was basically what made men’s magazines of the non-wank variety (LOL!!-old26) commercially viable. You couldn’t ask, but Esquire would tell you, on a monthly basis. But it’s easier to genuinely grasp a “look” if you can observe it being worn successfully on the street, which continues to give major urban centers an edge.

Today it’s not uncommon to see men who’ve gone to considerable care and expense to get some very specific look exactly wrong, and I suspect that that’s down to the internet. There are some things that bulletin boards can’t really convey. You have to see it being worn well.

Nice one, ickes! I actually just started reading Mr. Gibson's latest novel yesterday.

I loved the book they discuss most in the interview, "Pattern Recognition", in large part because I identified so strongly with the protagonist. I'm not quite as extreme as she is, but I absolutely loathe any branding on clothes unless it's quite subtle. And I start to feel acute distress to the point of anger if for some reason I have to spend too long in a mall department store or, heaven forbid, get dragged into the likes of an A&F or some other "brand forward" hellhole at the outlets.

Wifebert still just thinks I hate shopping and that I play up the anxiety to get out of doing it. I'm always like, "No, you don't understand. These places literally make my skin crawl." I have a real physical aversion to being surrounded by crap like that.

I do find it kind of amusing that Cayce Pollard would probably want to rip the tags and labels right out of every single thing in the Rickson/Gibson line, though. And I remember, at the time I was reading "Pattern Recognition", thinking how badass it would be if this Buzz Rickson's company actually existed. It didn't occur to me until about a decade later that it did! I was looking at N-1 jackets and stumbled upon the Rickson's version, and somewhere rattling around in the ol' braianpan was a little voice going, "Hey, wait a minute. I know that name from somewhere. Why do I know that name?"

I donno man someone's tastes in clothing never really angered me much. I might not like it not would I wear it but it doesn't anger me. Super dandy dressers, express men's printed T's, the "going out" shirt. Jersey shore. Doesn't do if for me but if it's your thing go for it.

I do get angry I guess in one situation and that is wakes and funerals. But it's more out of the respect for the dead. Wife beaters and sneaks just aren't appropriate.

I should say I am not angry at my fellow shoppers or their purchasing decisions. That is not my problem at all.

I just start to feel claustrophobic and slightly ill, and I resent being in that space. So I am quietly seething at the situation, the environment. I don't want to be there, I can't stand being there, and I have. to. get. out.

I don't think I agree with that.   Maybe among the very small minority of the population that makes up the denim head freaks like us, but not among the general population, no way.   The vast majority of the general public has no clue what Iron Heart is and that's exactly how I like it.

Recognizable in certain crowds. Not so much where I live. Jeans are so common around me that no one will think of them as anything but "jeans". Now, if they were bright red or pure white, that would be different.
Honestly if people started saying "nice ironhearts" to me I will remove the decorative stitching from the pockets.

Do people actually do that? Wife beaters aren't appropriate anywhere, but at formal occasions especially..That's just so insanely trashy.

I feel exactly the same way about those stores as well. 

Frankly, in my case, I think it has a lot to do with the off-gassing of the chemicals used in the manufacturing process and the synthetics in the clothing.  I get dizzy, nauseous, and overwhelmed; and like you, I can't get out fast enough.

I'm just talking from a "distinctive marking" standpoint. I don't find either of them garish or unappealing -- rather like them both, myself. The two brands, however, have an inherent exclusivity through their limited distribution, so you're not going to be getting recognized at concerts, but they're going to be recognizable. Nothing like JNCO jeans, though, so everything will probably be okay.

Certainly not my intent to give anyone an anxiety attack over the embroidery on their back pocket.

I do wear suits around 100 days a year  .... Am I supposed to leave now?

1/3 of the year ain't bad. No you don't have to leave but you are the minority.